Atlanta Man Sentenced for Trio of 2013 Armed Robberies

By Kristal Dixon

An Atlanta man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for using a firearm while committing armed robbery.  

Michael Winfield will be heading to federal prison for robbing a Smyrna-area Kroger grocery store on Feb. 4, 2013,  according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. 

The store is located at 4715 Atlanta Road. He also robbed a BB&T branch on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta on Feb. 11, 2013, and a Wells Fargo Bank on Feb. 19, 2013, in Tucker. 

Winfield, 42, pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2013, to carrying a firearm during commission of a crime. He was arrested by the FBI after an anonymous tip came to the agency. They were able to confirm his identity using bank surveillance videos. 

“Winfield’s persistence in pursuing a life of crime is matched by law enforcement’s commitment to requiring him to face justice for those crimes,” Yates said in a news release. “The sentence imposed should serve as notice to others that if you choose to participate in violent crimes, you will be subject to severe penalties.”

Winfield had already been convicted in a federal court of armed robbery, so a second federal conviction of carrying a firearm during the commission of a violent crime carries a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence.